The defector (2011)

Directed by: Pieter van Rijn | 92 minutes | action, drama, crime | Actors: Victor Reinier, Angela Schijf, Halina Reijn, Jeroen Spitzenberger, Thom Hoffman, Doris Baaten, Frans Bakker, Joop Bekker, Erwin Bozzolini, Roy Bronsgeest, Maarten Brorens, Hans Croiset, Arthur Winnies, Erik de Vries, Judy Doorman, Abdullah el baoudi

Although police officers Eva van Dongen (Angela Schijf) and Floris Wolfs (Victor Reinier) have shared a lot of joy and sorrow in the various seasons of the TV series “Flikken Maastricht”, the low point seems to have been reached in the Telefilm ‘De overloper’. . The relationship of trust between the duo is now completely disrupted. Wolfs is in prison because he has stolen money from the government: a sum of no less than four million euros. As a result, Eva is deeply disappointed in her ex-colleague. She watches the pro forma hearing in court and is completely outraged when he is acquitted on a formal error. Eve doesn’t understand. She decides to keep an eye on Wolfs after the hearing.

Eva’s quest leads her to an investigation by a national National Criminal Investigation Team, when Wolfs and the criminal Mario Keizer carry out an art theft to pay off a money debt. Thanks to the goodwill of Public Prosecutor Peer Walraven, Eva is included in the National Criminal Investigation Team. He thinks he has a good asset in her for an investigation into a leak in the Public Prosecution Service. Together with Hannie de Groot, she can shadow Mario and at the same time continue her own research into Wolfs…

It can be seen that a lot of effort has been put into making the story exciting. Through flashbacks you see what happened with Wolfs, which means that he is now in a heavy parquet. It’s nice that you are left in the dark for a long time as to why the ex-cop stole government money. In contrast to the series “Flikken Maastricht”, ‘The defector’ mainly takes place outside Maastricht or the South Limburg district, where the two officers normally reside. As a result, other regular characters from the South Limburg police team, such as Romeo Sanders, Marion Dreesen and Frieda Mechels, do not appear in this story. So anyone hoping for an extra long adventure with the permanent cast in familiar surroundings will be disappointed.

But fortunately the one-off characters in ‘The defector’ are also worth it. Thom Hoffman is in good shape as the drug and women trafficker Mario Keizer. For example, when Mario has a blast on someone he wants to dump in the sea. Colleague Jeroen Spitzenberger also has an impressive role as Public Prosecutor Peer Walraven. Spitzenberger conveys this character in a fun, charming way. Finally, Halina Reijn plays the temporary, taciturn partner of Eva, Hannie de Groot. But unlike Hoffmann and Spitzenberger, her role is not as memorable. Reijn has more to offer, but unfortunately this is not reflected in this role as Hannie. The character is too one-dimensional.

Lead players Angela Schijf and Victor Reinier succeed well in making the disturbed relationship between Eva and Wolfs credible. The mimicry of the two actors in the scenes where the two are hostile to each other is very strong making it a pleasure to watch. What is disappointing about ‘The defector’ is – in addition to the fact that the story does not take place in Limburg – the conclusion of the case. After all the events, the lock is quite a clincher…

‘De Overloper’, which can best be watched between the fifth and sixth season, will certainly appeal to the enthusiastic crowd of fans of “Flikken Maastricht”. But the Telefilm will appeal less to those who have never seen an episode of the series, because there is no previous history about the main characters. ‘The defector’ in itself does not succeed in creating a bond with the characters if that bond was not already there. All in all, ‘The defector’ is a nice film that lets you puzzle over how the fork is now regarding the (alleged) guilt of Wolfs…